MIPCOM in Cannes to shine spotlight down under

Australia will take centre stage at MIPCOM 2010 with a special Spotlight on Australia country focus that will take place on Tuesday 5 October in Cannes and which will include a series of conferences and supporting events showcasing trail-blazing Australian entertainment content, innovation and creativity from traditional and emerging screen sectors.

The Australian-focused conferences will feature expert speakers in theareas of innovation, digital media and transmedia storytelling as wellas discussions on working in Australia.  Other activities being plannedinclude speed matching sessions for international producers interestedin co-production opportunities in Australia.

“Creativity, the cultural sector and the creative industries have acrucial role to play as drivers of growth in the Australian economy.They will be powering the online, mobile and broadcast digitalenvironment,” said Minister for the Environment Protection, Heritageand the Arts, Peter Garrett. “The Australian country focus at MIPCOM2010 will be a great opportunity for Australia to further develop itscreative profile and in particular its screen industries on theinternational market.”

MIPCOM 2009 welcomed over 12,000 delegates from 100 countries includingsome 4,000 international buyers.  Australia was among the top tencountry delegations to attend with over 130 companies participating.This October, record numbers of Australian professionals are expectedto attend the 2010 edition of the trade event.

“The Australian television and entertainment industry is a key elementof MIPCOM and has a reputation for looking outwards to theinternational market, particularly the Asian market in recent years.Spotlight on Australia recognises the dynamism of Australian companiesand will provide an international platform for promoting investmentopportunities within Australia as well as focussing attention onAustralian programming,” said Laurine Garaude, Television DivisionDirector at Reed MIDEM.

Reed MIDEMUK Managing Director, PeterRhodesOBE, will be visitingAustralia from 30 May to 12 June to meet with government officials andindustry leaders to discuss the business opportunities offered by the”Spotlight on Australia” country focus.  He will also conduct publicmeetings in Perth 31 May, courtesy of ScreenWest, and in Melbourne 2June, courtesy of Film Victoria, before going on to Sydney.

Commenting on the initiative Peter Rhodes said, “This country spotlightaims to highlight Australia’s pool of talent and their innovativeapproach to content production; this will strengthen exportopportunities for Australian creative screen industries.  I am lookingforward to discussing this with the many companies I shall be meetingthere.”

SBS National Manager, Content Sales & Distribution SharonRamsay-Luck commented, “MIPCOM is good for business – that’s theexperience of SBS Content Sales & Distribution. Relationships areforged and strengthened there – and it’s the ideal opportunity to gaina good understanding of clients’ needs and interests. Face-to-facediscussions are important in providing clarity around potential areasof interest or focus, particularly when your business partners arescattered around the world. We’ve been an exhibitor there for manyyears and are confident that this has contributed significantly to ourgrowth and sales expansion.”